Drug Abuse: Is Marijuana Harmful? Marijuana, ordinarily, is a weed. The dried leaves, flowering tops and stems, which can be used as a drug because of the curative properties are wrapped into cigarettes form and often smoked by people.

Cannabis is the plant yielding the marijuana
leaves. It's name is derived from Latin
American Spanish. Historically, Marijuana
came into Nigeria after the first and second
world wars when Nigerians were conscipted to
fight on the sides of Britain. Some of the
soldiers on their return from Burma and
North African military campaigns brought the
weeds home. Marijuana Initially, Marijuana
had several local names apart from the
popular one – Indian Hemp.
It used to be called "Morocco,""Igboo,"
"Ganja", "Smoke", "Grass","Weewee", "Stone"
etc. Because of its attribution to "mental
disorder", the authorities criminalised the
smoking of Marijuana as anyone found in
possession of it, or caught smoking is liable to
be sentenced to six months in prison without
option of fine. That was the situation until the
military intervention on January 15, 1966,
when the army took over from elected civilian
government.
However, it was the military government of
Yakubu Gowon who changed the punishment
for smoking and possessing Indian Hemp
from six months to 10 years imprisonment,
thus making people to be aware that
Marijuana was dangerous and could be the
cause of violent crimes in the society.
This led to the police getting more returns
from those caught smoking the weed at
different joints and homes across the country.
However when the Gowon regime was
overthrown, the new military government of
Maj-Gen Murtala Muhammed saw no reason
for the long jail term for Indian hemp offences
and therefore repelled that law, reverting the
punishment to six months prison term.
This was received by the people with a sigh of
relief. The sentence for marijuana possession
had remained soft and flexible till the coming
of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA, which introduced stiff penalties for
offenders and other serious drugs like
cocaine, heroin, etc.
Marijuana has been found not to be harmful
nor addictive and people need not be afraid of
its usage, although it can make the smoker
"high", and operating in another thought-level.
There are research studies indicating the
medicinal, herbal, healing and curative
qualities of marijuana. In some states in
America, there is what is called "Medical
Marijuana"which could be legally used with
doctor's prescription.
Doctors can prescribe marijuana for some
ailments like epilepsy which has no cure,
except by marijuana. Even children of two
years and above are given "edible
marijuana"for cure of epilepsy which has been
very effective to control the frequent seizures.
So the recreational and medicinal use of
marijuana are now gaining ground in USA.
Governor Christie of New Jersey is sending a
bill to the state legislature to legalise use of
marijuana for medical purposes.
Edible marijuana administered to a 2-year old
child suffering from epilepsy has worked
perfectly well with the child fully cured and
seizures reduced from 100 a day now to zero.
Source: Vanguard